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Jennifer Gardner

Jennifer Gardner 

Jennifer has served as the Director of the Sports Business and Event Management Program at Northern Kentucky University since 2012. She is responsible for the oversight of the undergraduate academic program and also develops and manages business relationships with sport and entertainment organizations to establish volunteer, internship and job opportunities for students. Gardner has developed key partnerships with organizations such as the Bengals, Reds, and FC Cincinnati. She came to NKU after 18 years of experience in both collegiate and professional athletics. Before joining NKU, Gardner served as the Associate Athletic Director for the University of Cincinnati Athletics Department from 2006-2012. At UC, she served as a major gifts officer responsible for scholarships and capital initiatives in the UCATS Office, in which she successfully solicited and met fundraising goals for such projects as the Sheakley Athletics Center. Additionally, she coordinated all hospitality programs, VIP events, customer service initiatives, retention efforts and benefits for high end donors. Prior to her arrival at UC, Gardner spent seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds as the director of premium sales and service. Gardner oversaw the sales and service of 600 premium accounts representing significant revenue for the team, while spearheading renewal initiatives and incentive programs for suite and season ticket holders. Gardner also had a three-year stint as the Cincinnati Bengals assistant director of premium seat sales. She was a member of the sales team responsible for meeting the sales goals of luxury suites and club seats in order to move forward in the construction of Paul Brown Stadium. A 1993 graduate of the University of Dayton, she earned her bachelor of arts in communication with an emphasis in broadcasting and public relations from UD before going on to pursue her master of arts in communication with an emphasis in organizational communication from Miami University (OH) in 1994. She and her husband, Brian, have two children; Chloe and Sydney.